MOST IMPORTANT INSTRUMENT OF FIGHTING CORRUPTION IS PUBLICITY, TIGRAN SARGSIAN CONSIDERS

NOYAN TAPAN

Ju ly 2

The first Anti-corruption conference was held on July 2 in Yerevan. It
discussed Armenia’s international anti-corruption commitments within
the framework of the UN Anti-corruption Convention, Eastern Europe and
Central Asia Anti-corruption Network of the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development, and Council of Europe’s Group of States
Against Corruption (GRECO). The role of anti-corruption strategy in
securing fulfilment of these commitments was also discussed.

U.S. Charge d’Affaires Joseph Pennington said that the conference gives
the government, the private sector, and the civil society an arena for
fighting corruption jointly. According to him, the U.S. government
welcomes the important steps taken by the RA government by assuming
various important international commitments.

RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsian said that the government will work
out an anti-corruption program by the end of the year. According to
him, that program is important for Armenia not only in the respect
of fulfilment of international commitments, but also in the respect
of the deep conviction that "it is a serious public evil."

In Prime Minister’s opinion, the most important instrument of
fighting corruption is publicity. "The public should feel that
our actions and programs give real results," he said. According
to T. Sargsian, it is important that wide layers of society, NGOs,
opposition representatives take part in elaboration, implementation,
and control of these programs.

Answering journalists’ questions, the Prime Minister said that all
bases nourishing corruption in Armenia are just in the sphere of tax
and customs administration. "We have made these spheres our targets
and if we have quality improvements in the above mentioned spheres
in the coming three years, we can be sure that we will live in a
different society in the respect of quality in the coming five years,"
T. Sargsian said.